Chiral Optical Tamm States at the Interface between a Cholesteric and an All-Dielectric Polarization-Preserving Anisotropic Mirror

The chiral optical Tamm state is a new localized state of light at the interface between a polarization-preserving anisotropic mirror and an optically chiral medium such as a cholesteric liquid crystal. In this study the metal-free polarization-preserving mirror is used for efficient resonance control. We stress the advantage of the all-dielectric structure in obtaining high Q factor. The light is localized near the interface and the field decreases exponentially with the distance from the interface. The penetration of the field into the chiral medium is virtually blocked at wavelengths corresponding to the photonic band gap and close to the pitch of the helix. The polarization-preserving mirror has another photonic band gap as well. Our analytics agrees well with precise calculations, enabling intelligent design for laser and sensing applications.